National Farm to College Research Report
By Kristen Markley ~ October, 2002

Report sections

• About This Report and the Programs Surveyed
• Processing Facilities, Staffing, and How Products are Incorporated <<
• Who is Involved, How Found Farmers, and Farmer Profitability
• Research, Funding, Related Projects, and Promotional Aspects
• Recommended Policies and Support, Barriers, Benefits, Recommended Strategies

Products Purchased

• The top three produce items (not necessarily local) purchased by food service were listed as lettuce, potatoes, and tomatoes. Close runner-ups were bananas, onions, green peppers, and carrots. Others listed by at least two different food service directors were apples, strawberries, and broccoli.
• Vegetables are the most common item purchased from local farmers by college food service. The most commonly listed local vegetables were potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, squash and herbs. Many of the colleges interviewed purchase local apples, local dairy products (including milk, cheese, and ice cream), and local eggs. Several purchase local strawberries. Several purchase local meats, chicken being the most common followed by turkey, sausage and beef. Seafood and fish are purchased by a couple colleges. Other items purchased by at least three colleges include flour and chips.
• Most of the local, fresh produce was purchased for just part of the year (seasonal). Some items that were purchased year round included potatoes, frozen fruits, dried beans, flour, grains, pasta, eggs, chicken, turkey, dairy products, sausage, lobster and fish.
• Percentage of total purchasing that was estimated by foodservice as local ranged from less than 1% to 80%.
• The estimated percentage of total local purchasing that was organic ranged from none to all.
• Most of the locally grown products originated from within the state and usually within 50 miles of campus. Some colleges also purchased local products from neighboring states.

Purchasing and Pricing

• The majority of the local purchasing is done through brokers, distributors, farmer owned cooperatives, or farmer networks. A few projects purchase directly from local farmers or a campus farm, through the assistance of a student or foodservice purchaser who makes the calls and coordinates the deliveries.
• Most of the deliveries of local foods are made once or more/ week by the farmer, distributor, or cooperative.
• Eight of the colleges interviewed do not have a bidding requirement for the local foods that are purchased. For those who do have bidding requirements there is a range of systems. Some require farmers to bid along with other vendors and food service buys from whoever has the lowest price. Others make the choice based on quality, value, and service from the supplier. Others wrote into the bid the option to use local growers for up to 10% of the volume (told major supplier that they are going to get at least 90% of the business) or choose distributors based on how much of their product is local.
• Food Service insisted that buying locally was not viewed as an issue for the primary supplier. Food service's local purchases are either such a minimal part of the overall purchasing or food service is very open and up-front about their work with local farmers and are careful to maintain a stable relationship with the primary supplier. Or, as Randy Shelton from Ohio University explains, "It is a win-win situation because there are things that our growers produce that the supplier may pick up as part of his inventory. He may use some of the larger growers as a supplement. The more you get involved in these partnerships, and keep the communication going, it tends to be a win-win situation."
• When asked if local farmers' products cost more to purchase, half of the food service directors interviewed said yes and others said no. For those who do pay more they manage the higher price by passing the cost on to the customer or through reducing other food service expenses (at Bates College, food service does composting and reduces packaging. This has eliminated garbage disposal and saved a lot of money). Most food service who pay more for local products justify the added cost based on the higher quality of the products, longer shelf life, and the trust and loyalty they feel with local farmers.

Photo by Peter Scarpaci

Processing Facilities and Staffing

• Most of the produce is washed before it arrives, but most of it is not processed in any way.
• Produce that is processed includes cut carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, and apples.
• Six of the colleges interviewed do not have well-developed facilities and staffing for processing fresh food. The others are equipped and experienced in preparing items from scratch.
• Additional labor has not been hired to assist with the processing and preparing of local products except at University of Wisconsin in Madison where additional labor is hired to help with the special meals that feature local foods and are held in the dining halls periodically.
• Existing labor is incorporated into the local buying projects.

How Products are Incorporated

• The locally purchased products are incorporated into different outlets at different campuses including student dining halls, salad bars, campus restaurants, cash operations, catering services, conferences, and at special events featuring local foods. There is not one more commonly used outlet than another. Each campus develops a farm to college project based on the systems, people, and resources of the particular school.
• Overall, the farm to college projects have not tended to change the menu in the dining halls or cash operations but special events, that feature local foods, create the menu around what is available locally.

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